Nnamdi Kanu heads to supreme court to appeal continued detention

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has appealed a ruling which allowed his continuous detention.

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja had, on October 13, discharged Kanu of the terrorism charge preferred against him.

A three-member panel of the court led by Hanatu Sankey held that the federal government flouted the Terrorism Act in violation of international conventions and treaties, hence, breaching the rights of the respondent when it forcefully renditioned the IPOB leader from Kenya.

However, the federal government is yet to release the IPOB leader.

Instead, the government filed an appeal before the supreme court to challenge the appeal court’s judgment.

It also filed an application seeking to stay the execution of the appellate court’s judgment.

Ruling on the application, the court of appeal granted the government’s request.

In a statement on Thursday, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Kanu’s counsel, said he has appealed the decision on the stay of execution.

“We are therefore by this medium, informing the general public, and Umuchineke in particular, that we have filed an appeal against the said ruling of the court of appeal delivered on the 28th day of October 2022, and will proactively follow up on the administrative process to ensure that both appeals are given accelerated hearing in line with the extant fast-track rules of the supreme court,” he said.

“We shall keep everyone abreast of the development in the appeals as we progress.”

In the notice of appeal, Kanu said the appeal court erred in law when it proceeded to hear the federal government’s application for a stay of execution.

He added that the “Court of Appeal Rules 2021 and the Court of Appeal Act 2004, do not make any provision for stay of execution of a court of appeal judgment in a criminal appeal”.